Judgment vs. Assessment

"Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1 KJV)  VS. "A tree is identified by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33 NLT)

I LOVE discussing and debating these two passages!  Matthew 7:1 is easily one of the most abused passages of Scripture and taken out of context often more frequently by believers than by those who do not follow Christ at all.  But maybe you will let me try to put a new spin on it, just for kicks, by adding insight to Matthew 12:33?

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption=""What Is Love?""][/caption]

The thing I think people fail to realize in this passage from Matthew 12 (as is often the case with EVERY passage where Jesus speaks in the Bible) is that Jesus' heart was and IS so much more compassionate than ours can fathom.  It's more a question of what LOVE truly IS.  Think about it: We contemplate Jesus as thinking and feeling just like us, flawed humans, and we miss the fact that he was actually offering us encouragement about how to love people.

That may sound weird, but if you don't take an assessment of other believer's "fruit" or determining "where they are" (spiritually) you can't truly love them, can you?  Just engaging in a physical gesture toward someone won't cut it.  It can be a little confusing to love unconditionally, but purposefully.  This is the kind of love I see Jesus demonstrating in the New Testament.

Taking a "spiritual fruit" inventory or assessment just to condemn or lay judgment on someone is unquestionably wrong. So, instead, next time you assess someone's fruit, and you're able to uncover where they are in their journey, think of it this way, instead: it is your obligation to alter the way you love them, once you have uncovered where they're at!  Everyone needs compassion, and Jesus taught us exactly how to dole it out here in Matthew 12.

So, go love someone the way Christ would want you to, right now!